Geelong Grammer ($52,240) is not only the most expensive school in Victoria, but also the most expensive school in Australia, with school fees setting parents back more than $1,000 per week. Boasting a king, prime ministers, media moguls and music superstars as prominent alumni, Geelong Grammer is also home to Australia’s largest co-ed boarding school, which costs an $88,500 per year.

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Victoria

New South Wales

Queensland

Australian Capital Territory

Tasmania

South Australia

Western Australia

Northern Territory

 


 

The top 3 most expensive schools in Victoria

Please note, school fees quoted do not include compulsory levies, application fees or enrolment fees.


Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $52,240
Location: Corio, Victoria
Grammar is the most expensive school in Australia, with Geelong Grammar school fees setting parents back more than $1,000 per week. Boasting the title of the country’s largest co-ed boarding school, with more than 1,600 students, the Anglican school counts King Charles III as its most famous former pupil. Geelong Grammar boarding school fees cost $88,500 per year, with activities including chopping wood to heat shower water and taking part in blacksmithing workshops.

Notable former students: King Charles III, Malcolm Fraser, Rupert Murdoch, Missy Higgins, Kerry Packer.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$45,004
Location: South Yarra, Victoria
Established more than 130 years ago, this prestigious Christian school is the most expensive school in Melbourne and boasts one of the best girls’ football programs in the state. Last year, one of its Year 11 students attended a Summer Humanities Institute residential program at Stanford University in the United States.
 
Notable former students: Joscelin Yeo Wei Ling, Stephanie McIntosh, Eliza McNamara.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$44,960
Location: Armadale, Victoria
Lauriston schools fees are one of the most expensive in Victoria. A nondenominational girls school nestled in the upmarket suburb of Armadale, all Year 9 students attend the rural Howqua campus as full-time boarders. The school has also been recognised as the only school in Australia to meet National Workplace Gender Equity Standards.

Notable former students: Margaret Carnegie, Livinia Nixon, Deborah Conway.


The top 3 most expensive schools in New South Wales

Please note, school fees quoted do not include compulsory levies, application fees or enrolment fees.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $49,521
Location: Bellevue Hill, New South Wales
Cranbrook school fees are the most expensive in New South Wales. A multi-campus, Anglican, independent, day and boarding school for boys, Cranbrook will welcome female students in 2026. The school also appointed its first female principal in 2024.

With a curriculum that’s educated media moguls and actors, 2024 saw two of Cranbrook’s students graduate with the highest possible ATAR results.

Notable former students: James Packer, Sam Reid, James Fairfax.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $49,209
Location: Darlinghurst, New South Wales
Ranking third in the state for academic results in 2024, 30.3% of Sydney Grammar students received an ATAR of 99 and above. Earning the title of Sydney’s richest school, the nondenominational school is the oldest operating school in Sydney. The school has plans for a second campus, which is slated to cost $39 million.

Notable former students: Banjo Patterson, Malcolm Turnbull, Sam Fischer.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $49,036
Location: Darlinghurst, New South Wales
SGEGGS Darlinghurst is an Anglican girls’ school, where Sydney’s highest earners send their daughters. The most expensive girls school in Sydney, SGEGGS prides itself on producing confident, well-rounded young women. In 2024, 19 students made the state’s Top All Rounders list, by gaining a mark of at least 90% in ten or more HSC units.

Notable former students: Margaret Whitlam, Pamela Stephenson, Blanche d'Alpuget.

 

 

 

The top 3 most expensive schools in Queensland

Please note, school fees quoted do not include compulsory levies, application fees or enrolment fees.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $34,900
Location: Spring Hill, Queensland
Known simply as “Grammar”, Brisbane Grammar school fees are the are the most expensive in Queensland. A nondenominational boys school, Grammar has the most students of any private school in Queensland, teaching almost 2,000 boys. The school has a competitive basketball program, as well as an Olympic-grade gymnastics stadium with full-size sprung floor, vaults, trampoline, bars and weights room.

Notable former students: Roy Emerson, David Malouf, Thomas Joseph Byrnes, Stephen Moore.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $32,083
Location: Spring Hill, Queensland
Brisbane Girls Grammar School fees are the second most expensive in the state. Boasting the highest median ATAR score in Queensland last year, the school encourages girls to develop “wisdom, imagination and integrity” and has launched a podcast to discuss important social issues.

Like its brother school, Brisbane Grammar, Girls Grammar is nondenominational and focuses on a wide range of competitive sports.

Notable former students: Shelley Craft, Minna Atherton, Lenore Taylor.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $31,440
Location: Toowong, Queensland
Brisbane Boys’ College fees are one of the most expensive in Queensland. Like Grammar, BBC boys have access to a varied sporting program, which includes rugby union, rowing and tennis. BBC's Robotics Club is the longest-running schoolboy group in the Southern Hemisphere, with teams competing internationally. Brisbane Boys’ College is one of four schools owned by the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association.

Notable former students: Kieren Perkins, James Horwell, Darren Middleton, Dane Gagai.

 

 

 

 

The top 3 most expensive schools in the Australian Capital Territory

 
Please note, school fees quoted do not include compulsory levies, application fees or enrolment fees.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $32,600
Location: Red Hill, Australian Capital Territory
Canberra Grammar School, a co-ed, independent, Anglican, day and boarding school is the most expensive school in Canberra.

Founded in 1929, Canberra Grammar School is an International Baccalaureate World School and the only co-ed boarding school in the ACT.

Notable former students: Gough Whitlam, David Gallop, Richard Glover, Rod Kafer.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $31,820
Location: Deakin, Australian Capital Territory
Canberra Girls Grammar School is an independent, non-selective Anglican school, boasting more than 1,300 students.

Established in 1926, Canberra Girls Grammar is the oldest private day and boarding school in the ACT. Last year, 45.3% of graduating students achieved an ATAR of 90 or higher.

Notable former students: Kate Fischer, Samara Weaving, Dimity Douglas, Sibylla Budd.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $23,340
Location: Bruce, Australian Capital Territory
Radford College is a non-selective, contemporary Anglican, co-ed day school, which neighbours the University of Canberra and is close to the Australian Institute of Sport.

Home to more than 2,000 students, Radford was founded in 1983, was Canberra’s third Anglican school, and is the third Anglican school on this list!

Notable former students: Nick Kyrgios, Tom Rogic, Nicholas Bishop, Anna Flanagan.

 

 

 

 

The top 3 most expensive schools in Tasmania

Please note, school fees quoted do not include compulsory levies, application fees or enrolment fees.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $24,640
Location: North Hobart, Tasmania
The Friends' School, an independent co-ed Quaker school is the most expensive school in Tasmania.

Founded in 1887 by Quakers, the school currently caters for approximately 1,330 students from pre-kindergarten to Year 12, including boarders from Years 7 to 12. It is the largest Quaker school in the world.

Notable former students: Errol Flynn, Eddie Ockenden, Max Walker, Caryn Davies.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $22,920
Location: Sandy Bay, Tasmania
Fahan School is a nondenominational, independent school for girls, overlooking the River Derwent in Hobart. Established in 1935, the school was named after the village of Fahan (pronounced 'Fawn') in Ireland.

Fahan School’s Year 7 Coxed Quad Scull crew recently won gold at the Tasmania All Schools Rowing Championships.

Notable former students: Sally Poncet, Judith Durham AO, Elise Archer, Posie Graeme-Evans.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $20,750
Location: Launceston, Tasmania
Scotch Oakburn College is an independent, open-entry, early learning to Year 12, co-ed, day and boarding school in Launceston.

Founded in 1886, the present school was established in 1979 with the amalgamation of the boys' Scotch College and girls' Oakburn College (formerly the Methodist Ladies' College).

The school has a proud sporting tradition. The ´Jewel in the Crown´ of its sporting program is Scotch Oakburn Park, a spectacular sporting facility, and one of the finest complexes in Tasmania.

Notable former students: Marcus Ambrose, Alec Campbell, Alan Stretton, Enid Campbell AO, OBER.

 

 

 

The top 3 most expensive schools in South Australia

Please note, school fees quoted do not include compulsory levies, application fees or enrolment fees.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$33,120
Location: Kensington Park, South Australia
Pembroke School, an independent, co-ed and nondenominational day and boarding school is the most expensive school in Adelaide.


Notable former students: Kamahl, Natasha Stott Despoja, Roger Rasheed, Tom Moody.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$31,110
Location: Hackney, South Australia
St Peter's College (commonly known as Saints) is an independent Anglican primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys.

Founded in 1847, the school is spread over three campuses. Boasting historic, sandstone buildings, sport is encouraged for Years 2 to 6 and is compulsory for Years 7 to 12.

Notable former students: Sir James Hardy OBE, Greg Champion, Don Dunstan, Tom Harley.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$29,370
Location: Glen Osmond, South Australia
Seymour College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for girls,

Established in 1922, the college’s 25-acre campus is located in the leafy foothills of Adelaide and is home to state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure including the Centre of Performing Arts and The Yurrebilla Centre for Learning and Innovation.

Notable former students: Poh Ling Yeow, Olivia Rogers, Judith Roberts AO, Debroah Humble

 

 

 

 

The top 3 most expensive schools in Western Australia

Please note, school fees quoted do not include compulsory levies, application fees or enrolment fees.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student - $34,746
Location: Peppermint Grove, Western Australia
Presbyterian Ladies' College (commonly known as PLC), is an independent, day and boarding school predominantly for girls. It is also the most expensive school in Perth.

The school currently caters for approximately 1,200 students, with boys and girls enrolled from pre-kindergarten to pre-primary and girls only from Year 1 to Year 12. The college is the only girls’ school in Western Australia to offer an International Baccalaureate Programme, which requires the study of English language and literature, a second language, humanities, science, mathematics and the arts.

Notable former students: Judy Nunn, Tahnee Atkinson, Nina Kennedy, Olivia DeJonge.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$34,660
Location: Claremont, Western Australia
Christ Church Grammar School is a multi-campus, Anglican, early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys.

Founded in 1910, the school overlooks Freshwater Bay on the Swan River and is home to more than 1,600 students. Last year, 62% of graduating students achieved an ATAR of 90 or higher.

Notable former students: Piers Akerman, Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, Tim Minchin, Ric Charlesworth.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$34,428
Location: Claremont, Western Australia
Methodist Ladies' College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for more than 1,000 girls from pre-kindergarten to Year 12.

The school’s Crossing the Fence program, run in partnership with neighbouring Christ Church Grammar School (CCGS), offers Years 11 and 12 students the opportunity to select courses from each other’s curriculum.

Notable former students: Isla Fisher, Lisa Scaffidi, Rachel Harris, Allana Slater.

 

 

 

 

The top 3 most expensive schools in the Northern Territory

Please note, school fees quoted do not include compulsory levies, application fees or enrolment fees.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$16,765
Location: Berrimah, Northern Territory

Haileybury Rendall School is an independent, co-ed, early learning, primary and secondary day school in Darwin.

The school is the first “tier one” school to launch in Northern Australia and includes Australia's largest Indigenous boarding operation, Haileybury Kormilda Boarding.

Last year, 26% of graduating students achieved an ATAR of 90 or higher. The school is closely affiliated with Haileybury, which has four campuses in Melbourne and one in Tianjin, China.

Notable former students: Barney Allen, Tippipon Morgan, James Johnson.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$15,412
Location: Rapid Creek, Northern Territory

The Essington School in Darwin opened as a Montessori Preschool in 1989. The school took its name from the pioneering efforts of the first Northern Territory settlers at Port Essington on the Cobourg Peninsula.

Home to more than 800 students, Essington is a Bronze Pledge Partner of Soldier On’s Pathways Program. The Pathways Program helps veterans and their families to secure their future careers. The school also helps Defence families find new schooling options for their children.

Notable former students: Jax Ward.

Cost per year for a Year 12 day student -$10,400
Location: Alice Springs, Northern Territory

St Philip's College is a private, co-ed, day and boarding secondary school in Alice Springs.

The college is a member of of Round Square, an association of international schools which share a commitment beyond academic excellence to personal development and responsibility through service, challenge, adventure and international understanding.

Notable former students: Warren Williams, Ted Egan AO, Bernie Kilgariff AM.
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